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Apple today posted a FCP X Answers To Common Questions page in attempts to address some pro editors concerns (read: “do damage control”) about the new application. While it brings some much-needed clarity to some questions (about sharing projects, etc.) many of the answers (to their own carefully phrased) questions talk around the issues.

Below I’ve offered my highly-subjective and quite likely wrong translations of some of the more curious Q+A sections of Apple’s FAQ. I’m no fortune teller, and if I’m wrong I will be happy to be wrong. But this is a very carefully worded document and, as is often the case with PR statements, what’s not said is as important as what is.

Can I import projects from Final Cut Pro 7 into Final Cut Pro X?Their answer: Final Cut Pro X includes an all-new project architecture structured around a trackless timeline and connected clips. In addition, Final Cut Pro X features new and redesigned audio effects, video effects, and color grading tools. Because of these changes, there is no way to “translate” or bring in old projects without changing or losing data. But if you’re already working with Final Cut Pro 7, you can continue to do so after installing Final Cut Pro X, and Final Cut Pro 7 will work with Mac OS X Lion. You can also import your media files from previous versions into Final Cut Pro X.My translation: “No. And do not get your hopes up about this ever working. But it might — we said might — be something that works in limited fashion via XML, possibly through a 3rd party plugin, in the future.

Can Final Cut Pro X export XML?Apple’s answer: Not yet, but we know how important XML export is to our developers and our users, and we expect to add this functionality to Final Cut Pro X. We will release a set of APIs in the next few weeks so that third-party developers can access the next-generation XML in Final Cut Pro X.My translation: “We’re going to enable XML export. And, who knows, maybe XML import… Wait and see.” Hey, your guess is as good as mine (probably even better), but it sounds as if they will add the ability to export XML, though the wording is vague enough that one could interpret it to mean that they’re going to rely on third parties to develop an XML export plugin. Also, curious is the fact that they say nothing of XML import, particularly since some detective work by others has shown that Apple appears to have been developing XML import capabilities in the program’s code. Maybe I’ll give Apple the benefit of the doubt. (That’s something I’ve not said many times in the last few days.)

Does Final Cut Pro X support OMF, AAF, and EDLs?Apple’s answer: Not yet. When the APIs for XML export are available, third-party developers will be able to create tools to support OMF, AAF, EDL, and other exchange formats. We have already worked with Automatic Duck to allow you to export OMF and AAF from Final Cut Pro X using Automatic Duck Pro Export FCP 5.0. More information is available on the Automatic Duck website: http://automaticduck.com/products/pefcp/.My translation: “We’re outsourcing some of the pro features you used to find in Final Cut Studio. This is one reason we’ve lowered FCP X’s price tag to $299. So we don’t have to develop this stuff. So get out your checkbook, but remember that FCP X, Compressor and Motion are under $400. You can spend the money you used to spend on Final Cut Studio to add back the functionality to which you’re accustomed. This a la carte approach is a way for us to get advanced hobbyists on board and to try to keep pros.”

Can I send my project to a sound editing application such as Pro Tools?Apple’s Answer: Yes; you can export your project in OMF or AAF format using Automatic Duck Pro Export FCP 5.0. More information is available on the Automatic Duck website: http://automaticduck.com/products/pefcpMy translation: “Um, yeah, if it wasn’t clear from above, we’re outsourcing those pro features.”

As I said, I’m quite possibly wrong about these things — and maybe way off the mark. I’m speculating, but that’s because Apple is — even after releasing a FAQ — still asking us to speculate.

If I am right, and the new approach is a la carte features, well, I’m not sure that’s actually a bad move. Other vendors developing these tools means that things might be better and more quickly developed than they would if Apple was doing them. They are, after all, a consumer electronics company now. Again, assuming this is the case, the big questions are:

What will be the final cost of adding in these various plug-ins, etc.?

Will Final Cut Pro X remain the bargain that Apple’s touting it to be?

And, perhaps most importantly, if FCP X lacks professional features without the use of plug-ins, does using plug-ins on a somewhat less-than-fully-pro application trump using something like Avid, Premiere Pro, or Lightworks?

We shall see. Later this week I’ll be posting some switching resources… because if you use FCP 7 you’re switching, one way or another, to an entirely new edit suite.

EDIT (6.29.11 12:14pm): Made some changes to the XML-related Q+A — one typo had changed the entire meaning, so I revised my interpretive paragraph.

For the most part, this is not a review of FCP X. If you must know, I’ve used FCP X a little bit and I like its sleek interface and speed but, even more, I miss a lot of Final Cut Studio’s functionality, particularly Color. If FCP X matures into something more professional (i.e., more robust editor, plus a truly sophisticated color grading tool) I might embrace it. If it doesn’t, I will embrace something else.

The biggest problem for me, and for many others I suspect, is that I don’t know where it’s going and what it will become.

What’s been most puzzling in the aftermath of the FCP X is that so many people outside the professional production community — journalists, software developers, consumer video hobbyists, etc. — have tried to serve as apologists for Apple even though they have little experience editing professionally (i.e., for works that are publicly exhibited in broadcast, theatrical, or home video environments).

So, instead of reviewing the program in depth, I want to add my $0.02 to the ongoing FCP X debate by trying to articulate very clearly why I and others are frustrated with Apple and — yes — why we’re considering switching.

In the Q+A format below I try to address these (sometime maddening) comments.

Let me point out that the comments to which I’m replying are composites or, at times, actual quotes (marked with asterisks) of comments I’ve found in news articles, message boards and elsewhere. And if you don’t believe me, Google them.(more…)

As I mentioned in my last post, hard drive failure is a virtual certainty. It’s going to happen to every drive, eventually. The trick to not having your day (or your life) ruined by such and event lies in a) having an up-to-date backup and, if possible, b) being as prepared for drive’s failure as possible.

To this end, here are two resources to help you and me be prepared for the inevitable:

SuperDuper. If you don’t know of this application, prepare to meet your new best friend. It clones hard drives. Reliably. A limited version is available for free. For under $30 you can buy the fully featured version, which allows you to schedule backups and does smart updates (i.e., it copies even faster). I’ve used SuperDuper for years and see no reason to change as long as it works but, as an FYI, Carbon Copy Cloner does similar things and is donationware.

SMARTReporter. This nifty application checks on the SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) status of your hard drive to see if it has any problems. It is, as the folks at Corecode note, a kind of “early warning system” to notify you (by email, alert, etc.) of a possibly impending hard drive crash. Useful stuff, particularly if you’ve not run a backup recently. The one hitch: SMART technology does not work with USB and FireWire drives. All the more reason to schedule backups so they’re always up-to-date.

In my experience, I have found that a drive’s likelhood to fail is directly proportionate to its need to work on a given day. One example: On the day I was set to drive to 200 miles to a post house to do the final output of Quick Feet Soft Hands for television broadcast my raid, storing all of my Final Cut Pro and Color files failed. Thankfully, I had an exact clone and didn’t skip a beat.

I’ve been setting up a home file server and HTPC with a MacMini and, in the process, I found myself shopping for hard drives. It’s amazing how cheap they are (about $80-100 for 2TB these days) when you consider what they do (i.e., holding all of your precious digital memories).

Unfortunately, other than relying on your own good and bad experiences, making informed decisions about purchasing new hard drives is next to impossible. The most important factor in a drive is reliability, but there’s no way to know if the drive you’re shipped is going to fail in 6 hours, 6 months, or 6 years. Compounding this is the fact that almost all reviews — particularly those from customers on retailer websites — are anecdotal by nature. Read the 1-star reviews on Newegg or Amazon for any hard drive and you’ll soon be looking for another model. And then another. And then… they all start looking equally awful.

Storage Review takes hard drive reviews seriously. In searching for some reliable, large, and quiet drives, I followed their recommendations. I particularly found their “Leaderboard” of best drives useful and, after a little cross-checking, followed their recommendations.

Mac Performance Guide, on the other hand, is home to a motherlode of tips on optimizing a system. The site, authored by photographer Lloyd Chambers, bills itself as “offer[ing] the web’s clearest advice on selecting and configuring a Mac, especially for photographers.” That’s quite a claim, but I can’t refute it. The Articles and Guides section — which has multiple articles on backup, data safety, and optimizing Mac performance — is outstanding.

By the way, I ended up purchasing three different drives: a Western Digital Caviar Green, a Seagate Barracuda Green, and a Samsung Spinpoint F4. I bought none of them in confidence, which, I suppose, is the way you should always buy a drive. That’s why you have backups.